The WikiLeaks Saga Hits Home – Bad News for Americans with Foreign Accounts

Rudolf Elmer, a former executive for a prominent Swiss bank, has reportedly turned over more than 2000 names of high net worth account holders to WikiLeaks. That organization says it will publish the names. This is more bad news for Americans with unreported Swiss accounts.

The IRS has been fighting for years to learn the names of the thousands of Americans with unreported offshore accounts and unreported income. Both are illegal. To date, the US has only identified a small percentage of the Americans hiding money in Swiss banks. Elmer’s latest actions may change all that.

Elmer is a former exec with Julius Baer, a prestigious Swiss bank. He was recently prosecuted for violating Swiss bank secrecy laws. Undeterred, Elmer elected to release the names of over 2000 account holders with secret Swiss accounts. Apparently there are even a few dozen politicians who will be named.

In recent months there has been quite a battle between WikiLeaks, its founder Julian Assange and just about every large company and government in the world. Unfortunately, that battle sometimes spills over and effects everyday people. When disclosures of personal banking data occur the potential for collateral damage is huge. It’s not just tax evaders that are hurt, widespread disclosure of private data strikes a blow for privacy everywhere.

Expect the IRS and every other tax agency to be salivating in anticipation of the release of names. Criminal prosecutions and audits will not be far behind.

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Mahany & Ertl assists customers across the United States with tax compliance issues and aggressive white collar and criminal tax defense. Our Milwaukee, Wisconsin based tax lawyers can help you assess your risks, come into compliance or defend you if you are charged with money laundering, being a non-filer, tax evasion, filing false returns, fraud or conspiracy to defraud the United States.

If you have unreported income or accounts, there is still time to avoid potential prosecution but you must make first contact with the IRS before they contact with you.

For a no nonsense, no obligation consultation, contact Brian Mahany today at (414) 704-6731 or through the firm’s website, https://www.mahanyertl.com